Star Wars Action News

Tomorrow a new era in Star Wars Expanded Universe novels beings with the release of Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void. Written by Tim Lebbon and based on the Dark Horse comic series Dawn of the Jedi this book tells of Force users twenty-five thousand years before the battle of Yavin. It's the first Star Wars novel set so early in the timeline, and also the first Star Wars novel by Lebbon.

This past weekend was the C2E2 convention in Chicago, Illinois. In its fourth year, C2E2 has grown to fill an entire hall at McCormick Place. With no major stars like Val Kilmer and John Cusack to headline, the star wattage was a little bit dimmer, but that doesn't mean there wasn't tons to do at the con.

When the book Star Wars: The Blueprints by J. W. Rinzler was released in 2011 few could argue that it was not an impressive collection of schematics and a wealth of information about the construction of some of the most iconic creations in movie history. But also, few could afford the massive book.

Gentle Giant’s Premiere Guild Memberships for 2013 started recently with two exclusive Premiere Guild Member mini-busts, a holographic Darth Vader and an Episode III Mace Windu. As they ponder their gift for 2013, Marjorie and Arnie look back this podcast at two mini-busts for PGM members in 2012, the Rebel Trooper from A New Hope and a white Republic Commando from the Expanded Universe.

Wizard World conventions are a staple for sci-fi and comic book fans. Having produced their multi-city conventions for years in Philadelphia, Chicago, and many other cities, they now expand their reach deeper in the midwest this year with Wizard World St. Louis!

With few new Hasbro Star Wars toys showing up in stores, Star Wars collectors and podcast hosts Marjorie and Arnie must look online to build their collection. On this week's podcast, they review two new mail-order additions to their collection! First, they review the Brian's Toys exclusive Jocasta Nu action figure from Hasbro. Then they look at the first statue in Kotobukiya's new Star Wars Bishoujoline--Jaina Solo.

For fans of Star Wars 3.75-inch figures the news is bad. No new figures will be shipping for months, rumors of Target removing all Star Wars items from their toy aisles abound, and the last wave of Clone Wars figures can only be found in Germany and Canada.

While Hasbro has held the biggest focus coming out of Toy Fair 2013, there were plenty of other companies presenting and revealing new Star Wars items for 2013. On this episode of Star Wars Action News, Marjorie and Arnie report on all the rest, from Kotobukiya with their lines of statues and Bishoujos to Uncle Milton's science-based Star Wars items, from Fantasy Flight Games with their Star Wars card, mini, and role-playing games to Diamond Select with their bust banks. Plus LEGO with a slew of new sets for all price ranges! Hear it all in this week's Star Wars Action News podcast!

Marjorie of Star Wars Action News is doing a stair climb to benefit the American Lung Association, and to support her cause, SWAN is auctioning a Gentle Giant Premier Guild exclusive Republic Commando minibust.

Marjorie and Arnie are back, in black with the new Black Series of Star Wars figures coming from Hasbro! On this week's podcast, the hosts of Star Wars Action News discuss Hasbro's reveal of new, collector-oriented, highly articulated 6-inch Star Wars figures. Is this a lightspeed jump for figure collectors, or a desperate retread?

At Five Below stores across the country an unusual figure is showing up. It was first reported at Jedi Temple Archives.com and has been spotted by many collectors, including Arnie and Marjorie of Star Wars Action News. It's a variant of the 212th Battalion Clone Trooper with a more detailed, more white helmet. But the odd thing is, the figure has seemingly been opened, then taped back shut. Have you found this new variant?

It's been exactly one week since the news broke: Disney buys Lucasfilm, Episode VII in 2015. It's a major change of course for a franchise that had long been declared dormant, and one that will have far-reaching impact on Star Wars collectors. On this week's Star Wars Action News podcast, Marjorie and Arnie take your voicemails, giving podcast listeners the stage to share their excitement and their trepidation about this news.

For years many fans' holy grail for the Star Wars 3.75-inch collection has been an original trilogy vehicle never realized in either vintage or modern era--Jabba's Sail Barge. The scale and scope of such a vehicle has made it seemingly prohibitive, but at this year's New York Comic-Con the Star Wars brand team mentioned that they could possibly do it.

New York Comic Con was a great time for Star Wars fans. From new toy reveals from Hasbro and their Angry Birds Star Wars to new collectible and product announcements from Hallmark, Kotobukiya, and more, and convention veteran Mitchell Hallock was on-hand to cover it all. Join us on Star Wars Action News this week to hear his recollection of the con, along with interviews with Kotobukiya, Hallmark, Comic Images, and a discussion of Star Wars toys with Toy Hunter Hembrough!

In 2007 Matthew Reinhart brought a new dimension to Star Wars books with Star Wars: A Pop Up Guide to the Galaxy, a book that helped redefine what a pop-up book could be for Star Wars fans. It quickly became a New York Times Bestseller and now Matthew is back with his follow up--Star Wars: A Galactic Pop-Up Adventure. General Grievous, Acklay, and more, this book has light up features, sounds, and so much more!